J.P. Morgan and Its 'Victims'

The Beltway plundering of bank shareholders is now official.

Nov. 19, 2013 7:39 p.m. ET

With Tuesday's $13 billion settlement with J.P. Morgan over the sale of mortgage-backed securities, the Justice Department has finally solved the mystery of the financial crisis. Turns out that the bankers did it—to each other, and even to themselves.

We've been critical of this government plundering of a bank that did not need a bailout in 2008, but we defy anyone to follow the logic of Tuesday's Morgan agreement.